On January 7, 2003, President Bush proposed a new package of tax cuts, consisting primarily of a new tax cut for dividends and capital gains on corporate stock and an acceleration of most but not all of the provisions of the 2001 tax cut that were scheduled to take effect in future years.1 In...
Both the president and members of Congress have expressed strong political desire to appear to be "doing something" about the past recession and the current unemployment rate. This sentiment cuts across political parties and between the executive and congressional branches of government. In...
President Bush's recently proposed to eliminate the double taxation of corporate income. The proposal contains the germ of a good idea, but it is incomplete. Indeed, implementing it as is would be undesirable for several reasons: it would add to our burgeoning national debt and thus reduce...
The last decade has seen a surge in the use of the tax system to deliver dollars to families with children. As late as the early 1990s, the most important tax provision applying to children was the dependent exemption. For several decades, however, Congress failed to increase this exemption in...
[ Brookings Institution] President Bush's new tax plan is an answer in search of a question. It would provide little short-term stimulus. It seems unlikely to provide much of a long-term boost to growth or jobs. It is an incomplete way to reform corporate taxes. It would not boost investor...
This paper outlines the provisions of the Democratic alternative to the President's stimulus plan. Their plan would provide a one-time rebate to working people similar to the program implemented in 2001, but available without regard to tax status. The tax provisions proposed by the Democrats...
The President's stimulus plan would accelerate major elements of the income tax cuts enacted in 2001, provide additional temporary AMT relief, exempt dividends earned by individuals from income tax, and provide additional accelerated tax write-offs for small businesses. The tax provisions in the...
Recent policy discussions have raised the possibility of payroll tax cuts or income tax credits based on payroll tax payments. In 2003, workers and employers each owe 6.2 percent Social Security tax on the first $87,000 of a worker's earnings, and a 1.45 percent Medicare tax on all wages....
[L.A. Times] Four Economic Views, but there's one point on which analysts agree: The U.S. economy is shaky. But beyond that basic truth, there is little consensus. Why things soured, how to get back on track, even how.
The figure shows one way to assess the federal income tax burden-federal income taxes as a share of income-for a family of four in the middle of the income distribution, and for similar families at twice and half that income level from 1955 to 2001. In 2001, the median family earned $63,278. By...
The President's Tax Proposal: Second Thoughts
On January 7, 2003, President Bush proposed a new package of tax cuts, consisting primarily of a new tax cut for dividends and capital gains on corporate stock and an acceleration of most but not all of the provisions of the 2001 tax cut that were scheduled to take effect in future years.1 In...
Do We Really Need More Stimulus?
Both the president and members of Congress have expressed strong political desire to appear to be "doing something" about the past recession and the current unemployment rate. This sentiment cuts across political parties and between the executive and congressional branches of government. In...
Taxing Capital Income Once
President Bush's recently proposed to eliminate the double taxation of corporate income. The proposal contains the germ of a good idea, but it is incomplete. Indeed, implementing it as is would be undesirable for several reasons: it would add to our burgeoning national debt and thus reduce...
Growth in the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits
The last decade has seen a surge in the use of the tax system to deliver dollars to families with children. As late as the early 1990s, the most important tax provision applying to children was the dependent exemption. For several decades, however, Congress failed to increase this exemption in...
The President's Tax Proposal: First Impressions
[ Brookings Institution] President Bush's new tax plan is an answer in search of a question. It would provide little short-term stimulus. It seems unlikely to provide much of a long-term boost to growth or jobs. It is an incomplete way to reform corporate taxes. It would not boost investor...
Tax Provisions in The Democratic Stimulus Proposal
This paper outlines the provisions of the Democratic alternative to the President's stimulus plan. Their plan would provide a one-time rebate to working people similar to the program implemented in 2001, but available without regard to tax status. The tax provisions proposed by the Democrats...
Tax Provisions in The President's Economic Stimulus Proposals
The President's stimulus plan would accelerate major elements of the income tax cuts enacted in 2001, provide additional temporary AMT relief, exempt dividends earned by individuals from income tax, and provide additional accelerated tax write-offs for small businesses. The tax provisions in the...
Three-Quarters of Filers Pay More in Payroll Taxes Than in Income Taxes
Recent policy discussions have raised the possibility of payroll tax cuts or income tax credits based on payroll tax payments. In 2003, workers and employers each owe 6.2 percent Social Security tax on the first $87,000 of a worker's earnings, and a 1.45 percent Medicare tax on all wages....
The Big Fix: Stimulate, but Watch the Red Ink
[L.A. Times] Four Economic Views, but there's one point on which analysts agree: The U.S. economy is shaky. But beyond that basic truth, there is little consensus. Why things soured, how to get back on track, even how.
Income Tax Burden Peaked in the 1980s
The figure shows one way to assess the federal income tax burden-federal income taxes as a share of income-for a family of four in the middle of the income distribution, and for similar families at twice and half that income level from 1955 to 2001. In 2001, the median family earned $63,278. By...